"Wayne Douglas Gretzky, OC (born January 26, 1961) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player who is currently part-owner and head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes. Born in Brantford, Ontario and nicknamed "The Great One," Total Hockey: The Official Encyclopedia of the NHL calls Gretzky "the greatest player of all time". He is generally regarded as the best player of his era and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters, players, coaches, and fans. Along with his many awards and achievements, he is the only player to ever have his playing number, 99, officially retired across the entire National Hockey League.

Identified as a hockey prodigy at a very young age, Gretzky regularly played at a level far above his peers.[7] He became a full professional at the age of 17 in the World Hockey Association, leading to a long career in the NHL. He set 40 regular-season records, 15 playoff records, 6 All-Star records, won four Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers, and won 9 MVP awards and 10 scoring titles. He is the only player ever to total over 200 points in a season (a feat that he accomplished four times in his career). In addition, he tallied over 100 points a season for 15 NHL seasons, 13 of them consecutively.

He retired from playing in 1999, becoming Executive Director for the Canadian national men's hockey team during the 2002 Winter Olympics. He also became part owner of the Phoenix Coyotes in 2000 and following the 2004-05 NHL lockout became their head coach."

The greatest hockey player of all-time is also one helluva P.I.M.P. 8-)

To this day, scoring 50 goals in 39 games stands out in the Great One's memory -- a milestone that will be celebrated on Dec. 30, the 25th anniversary of his feat.

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Joanne Ireland, Edmonton JournalPublished: Friday, December 22, 2006

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The record-setting moments are many, but there is one that is particularly special to Wayne Gretzky.

To this day, scoring 50 goals in 39 games stands out in the Great One's memory -- a milestone that will be celebrated on Dec. 30, the 25th anniversary of his feat.

"People ask me all the time about my records, but to me, that's my favourite," he said on Thursday before his Phoenix Coyotes took on the Edmonton Oilers.

"They're all made to be broken, that's what sports is. That's what's so great about sports, but that's my favourite because I think that will be the hardest to break."

The night of the record, Gretzky and the Oilers were hosting Philadelphia. Pete Peeters was in net for the Flyers in a 7-5 loss. Five of those goals were scored by Gretzky, including the record-setting empty-netter.

"That night when I scored the first goal, it was a fluky goal, a shot off the back boards. The puck came to me on the other side and I threw it at the net and it went in," Gretzky continued.

"And I always felt if I got an early goal that I could get on a roll. I scored the third goal on a breakaway, got the fourth, then before I scored the fifth goal in an empty net I probably had three or four point-blank chances Peeters stopped. I probably should have had seven or eight goals that night.

"It was just one of those things that once I got the fourth, I knew I was going to get five -- even if I had to pick the puck up and throw it in."

The record had mattered enough to Gretzky that after he had scored 28 goals in 24 games, he did not want to finish with 50 in 51. At the very least, he wanted to tie the record of 50 in 50.

"Going into that game I was at 45 in 38 so I really felt confident that I was at least going to get 50 in 50. I just didn't anticipate scoring five goals that night, especially back then. Philadelphia was one of the better defensive-minded teams in the NHL," he recalled.

As much as the record matters to Gretzky, he knows that in today's NHL, there may be a chance that it will not stand for another 25 years.

He pointed to the emergence of players like Washington Capitals' Alexander Ovechkin and the talented trio of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

"With the new rules now, the new style, the new system, offence is going to go up," Gretzky said. "And when you get guys as talented as Ovechkin and Crosby, you just never know.

Sid's got the tools to do that, he really does I think. However the goalies that are around today kick the shit out of the goalies in Gretzky's hayday by far. Not to diminish what Gretzky has achieved, but imho the reason why nobody will EVER break 50 in 39 is because of Dominik Hasek's innovation.